Evaluation of an injectable bioactive borate glass cement to heal bone defects in a rabbit femoral condyle model

There is a need for synthetic biomaterials to heal bone defects using minimal invasive surgery. In the present study, an injectable cement composed of bioactive borate glass particles and a chitosan bonding solution was developed and evaluated for its capacity to heal bone defects in a rabbit femoral condyle model. The injectability and setting time of the cement in vitro decreased but the compressive strength increased (8 +/- 2 MPa to 31 +/- 2 MPa) as the ratio of glass particles to chitosan solution increased (from 1.0 g ml(-1) to 2.5 g ml(-1)). Upon immersing the cement in phosphate -buffered saline, the glass particles reacted and converted to hydroxyapatite, imparting bioactivity to the cement Osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells showed enhanced proliferation and alkaline phosphatase activity when incubated in media containing the soluble ionic product of the cement The bioactive glass cement showed a better capacity to stimulate bone formation in rabbit femoral condyle defects at 12 weeks postimplantation when compared to a commercial calcium sulfate cement The injectable bioactive borate glass cement developed in this study could provide a promising biomaterial to heal bone defects by minimal invasive surgery. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.